George Bush said yesterday the next president should reflect the hopes and dreams of voters and proudly proclaimed, "I am that man." Gov. Michael Dukakis urged supporters to "keep pouring it on" in a drive for an Election Day upset.
The Democratic underdog also ripped into Bush's record on the drug war and said "I'll be dammed" before giving foreign aid to countries not helping the cause.
Bush, the leader in all the polls, said there was a "great divide" separating himself from Dukakis on many issues. He proclaimed that his own election would mean a "mainstream mandate" for the next four years.
GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. Dan Quayle (R-IN), a foe of abortion, said he had no quarrel with a medical procedure he described as aimed at preventing conception after rape. Asked pointedly whether he would expect a rape victim to bear a child that resulted from such an attack, he said, "Hopefully they would seek medical attention immediately, and under normal medical procedure, life and conception would not even begin."
Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas was going to three states during the day in a bid to help endangered GOP candidates for Congress. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) countered for the Democrats by campaigning in Minnesota, where Hubert H. Humphrey III is a Senate race underdog.
Officials in both parties agree Democrats are likely to retain control of both houses of Congress after next week's balloting, although Republicans harbor hopes of winning enough close Senate seats to reduce the current 54-46 Democratic advantage.
President Reagan campaigned in Wisconsin and Ohio, scoffing at Dukakis' claims to being a Democrat in the Harry Truman mold. "I'll tell you one thing, if he's Harry Truman I'm Roger Rabbit," said the Republican campaign surrogate-in-chief.
John Howard in Owensboro, Ky., set up a sort of drivethrough poll at his Crickets Classy Car Wash, and said the results were about even. Customers could drive into a bay named for the presidential candidate of their choosing. "It's very scientific," he said. "The margin of error is 100 percent."
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